Georgetown-Ipswich wrestling finishes with best sectional performance in five years

Wednesday

Feb 14, 2018 at 10:16 PMFeb 14, 2018 at 10:16 PM

By Eric Goudreau / Correspondent

With leaders and major role players from the 2017-18 Georgetown-Ipswich "Royal Tigers" wrestling team leaving for college, some wondered if the younger talent would step up and if the rookies coming in would make an impact.

"We had a history-making season last year, and we lost 50 percent of that team. From a starting point, it really looked like we’d be starting at a deficit," said head coach Ryan Archambault.

The team of 22 the year before quickly turned to an 11, and they had to add players to fill in as many roles possible.

The Royal Tigers had four freshmen starting and not every weight class filled, some wondered how competitive this year's team actually would be. This 2018 season, the Royals showed that you should always keep your eye out for the underdog. To see a testament to what this team can do, one can look at their performance at the Division 3 North sectional tournament last weekend.

"We had our best sectional tournament result of the last five years." said Archambault. "We were fourth out of 14 teams, scoring 147 points. We entered 11 weight classes out of 14 and seven kids will be making the state tournament."

Those seven include sectional champions junior Ian Forgitano, who finally got his championship as a three-time finalist, and sophomore Troy Forgitano, 120 pounds. Also in this group is the runner-up of his competition senior captain John Blythe at 182 pounds.

This roster has not only proven that they are underdogs in a competitive Cape Ann League, but that they can also show signs of dominance. The team that has dropped some weight classes is still showing signs of depth with the flurry of wrestlers making an impact in their respective competitions.

"We figured we would be doing a rebuilding year losing all those spots. We were clearly underdogs going into most of our matches," said Archambault, when describing his preseason outlook on his team.

With success prevalent throughout the Royals roster this season, other schools might wish that this type of rebuilding is something their team could go through.

The Royals will bring some of their best to the Division 3 State Tournament this Saturday, Feb. 17.